Led by renowned composer/percussionist Lukas Ligeti, Burkina Electric is the first electronic music group from Burkina Faso, in the deep interior of West Africa. Based in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso's capital, it is, at the same time, an international band, with members living in New York, U.S.A. and Düsseldorf, Germany, as well as in Ouaga. Burkina Electric's music combines the traditions and rhythms of Burkina Faso with contemporary electronic dance culture, making it a trailblazer in electronic world music. A diverse and talented group consisting of four musicians and two dancers, they collectively participate in the creative process and represent disparate musical genres and sounds from across the globe.

Rather than recycling well-known rock and funk rhythms, Burkina Electric seeks to enrich the fabric of electronic dance music by using unusual rhythms that are rarely heard and little-known even in much of Africa. This includes ancient rhythms of the Sahel, such as the Mossi peoples' Ouaraba and Ouenega, but also new grooves of their own creation. The band invites you to discover that these exotic rhythms groove at least as powerfully as disco, house, or drum & bass!

Award-winning singer Maï Lingani, a star in Burkina Faso because of her unique voice and charismatic stage presence, sings in Moré, Dioula, Bissa, and French. Wende K. Blass, one of Burkina's premier guitarists, contributes soulful guitar melodies. New York-based drummer/electronicist Lukas Ligeti is one of the most up-and-coming concert music composers internationally. Known for his nonconformity, diverse interests, and imagination, he has received commissions from prominent groups such as the Kronos Quartet, the Bang on a Can All Stars, and the American Composers Orchestra. Vicky and Zoko Zoko are skilled dancers/choreographers who bring high energy and sharp moves, and also contribute powerful vocals.

Burkina Electric has performed across the U.S. and beyond at venues such as the Festival Jazz à Ouaga in Burkina Faso, Le Poisson Rouge in New York City, the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago, Turner Hall Ballroom in Milwaukee, the Newman Center in Denver, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Luminato Festival in Toronto, and the Montreal Jazz Festival, among many others. With choreographer Karole Armitage and her company, Armitage Gone! Dance, Burkina Electric created the work "Summer of Love,” which was performed at Lincoln Center in NYC and at the Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania, Italy. The work was then developed into “Itutu” and was performed in NYC at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Next Wave Festival and at Celebrate Brooklyn! in Prospect Park; in Monaco at the Opéra de Monte Carlo; and at festivals in Belgium and Germany.

]]>morrice.blackwell@gmail.com (April Thibeault)Press ReleasesThu, 15 Sep 2011 09:33:02 -0500EXEGESIS Jazz Trio Releases New Album "Harmony of the Anomaly"http://www.jazzreview.com/jazz-news/press-releases/exegesis-jazz-trio-releases-new-album-harmony-of-the-anomaly.html
http://www.jazzreview.com/jazz-news/press-releases/exegesis-jazz-trio-releases-new-album-harmony-of-the-anomaly.html“EXEGESIS…is poised squarely at the bulging edge of the musical comfort zone.” – JazzReview.com To sample mp3s and purchase the album visit http://exegesisonline.com/exegesis_frameset_music.html. Electronic jazz ensemble, EXEGESIS, bridges the gap between modern music technology and improvisation in its latest album The Harmony of the Anomaly (Dems Dem’s Demos). As the title suggests, the album showcases the group’s own unique blend of heterogeneous soundscapes including electronic jazz, live samplers, interactive music software, and complex compositions. With the help of Gretchen Parlato’s smooth vocals and guest drummers Greg Gonzalez, Mark Guiliana, Robert Perkins, and Mark Ferber, The Harmony of the Anomaly boasts…

About EXEGESIS

Based in Brooklyn, NY, EXEGESIS is a jazz/electronic music ensemble playing original compositions that stress adventurous improvisations and unique textural layers. Formed in 2001, EXEGESIS is made up of bandleader/guitarist Nick Demopoulos, bassist Danton Boller, and drummer Tomas Fujiwara. EXEGESIS has performed throughout the United States, Europe and the Middle East. In 2008, EXEGESIS participated in the "American Music Abroad" program sponsored by Jazz at Lincoln Center and the U.S. Department of State. This program enabled EXEGESIS to perform in Bahrain, Yemen, Oman, United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. EXEGESIS has also performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival, The House of Blues, NYC’s Dizzy's Club, The Knitting Factory, and The National Geographic Auditorium in Washington D.C. EXEGESIS released its debut album "The Order of Chaos" in 2002.

BMOP/sound, the nation’s foremost label launched by an orchestra and devoted exclusively to new music recordings, announces the release of its fourth CD Gunther Schuller: Journey Into Jazz. Representative of the "Third Stream" genre, a revolutionary style of music brought forth into the mainstream by Schuller in the 1950’s, the three pieces on this album unite the structural complexities found in contemporary classical music with the improvisational elements of jazz. According to Schu …

BMOP/sound, the nation’s foremost label launched by an orchestra and devoted exclusively to new music recordings, announces the release of its fourth CD Gunther Schuller: Journey Into Jazz. Representative of the "Third Stream" genre, a revolutionary style of music brought forth into the mainstream by Schuller in the 1950’s, the three pieces on this album unite the structural complexities found in contemporary classical music with the improvisational elements of jazz.

According to Schuller, "few people would’ve imagined jazz in the world of the symphony orchestra. It was time to bring improvisation, the heart and soul of jazz, into the creative equation." Thanks to BMOP/sound’s diverse aesthetic, Journey Into Jazz offers a new sound as it weaves jazz vernacular into the symphonic world. The recording offers compelling performances by Gil Rose and his BMOP musicians, and jazz groups comprised of some of today’s top contemporary artists. With the release of this definitive compilation, Schuller’s seminal works for the legendary Modern Jazz Quartet and orchestra are made available to the public as digital recordings for the first time.

As the title suggests, Variants for Jazz Quartet and Orchestra (1960) is laid out in a theme-and-variations form-the structure most common to jazz performances. Variants was commissioned by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein for the New York City Ballet. Because Balanchine and his dancers were unaccustomed to working with improvisational methods, Schuller wrote for the Modern Jazz Quartet (vibraphone, piano, double bass, and drums) in a manner that sounds improvised. Journey Into Jazz (1962) premiered at the First International Festival in Washington, DC, with the National Symphony Orchestra. Reminiscent of Prokofiev’s "Peter and the Wolf", Journey Into Jazz is the story of Eddy Jackson, an aspiring young trumpet player who learns to play jazz. The composer serves as the narrator of the work, which was written by famed jazz critic and author Nat Hentoff. Concertino for Jazz Quartet and Orchestra (1959) was premiered by the Baltimore Symphony under the baton of Herbert Grossman. While the jazz ensemble improvises extended solo parts, the orchestra, whose parts are fully written out, find themselves confronted with rhythms, syncopations, articulations, and free-flowing lines that are generally characteristic of jazz.

Gunther Schuller is an American composer, conductor, jazz and classical performer, author/historian, music publisher, record producer, and creator of the jazz program at New England Conservatory. He is the winner of several major honors including the MacArthur Genius Award, DownBeat Lifetime Achievement Award, a Pulitzer Prize, two Grammy Awards, and inaugural membership in the American Classical Music Hall of Fame.

New York City (3/10/09) --- NEA Jazz Master Foreststorn "Chico" Hamilton takes listeners on a musical journey of his venerable career and the numerous people who have influenced it in his latest CD Twelve Tones of Love (Release: 4/14/09 Joyous Shout!). Adding to his 50-plus discography, Twelve Tones of Love celebrates Chico’s lifelong romance with music. Composed for and performed with an enlarged ensemble, the album offers a glimpse into Chico’s passion for music and the interpersonal relationships both past and present that he has cherished through his service to the muse.

Both opening and closing Twelve Tones of Love are bookend tracks A Piece of Music and The Alto of Kelso featuring one of Chico’s oldest friends and multi-reedist Jack Kelso. Chico reminiscences about his younger days in Steinway written for childhood friend Gerald Wilson- with whom Chico fooled around with on the Steinway in a local shop in their shared L.A. neighborhood. One of Chico’s former band mates from one of his classic ‘60s ensembles, George Bohanon, joins him on muted trombone in the playful song, George. Featuring Chico on mallets, Lazy Afternoon welcomes vocalist Jose James, a former student of Chico’s at the New School’s Jazz and Contemporary Music program, of which Chico is a founding educator. One of the few covers on this album, Lazy Afternoon was originally recorded by Chico with Tony Bennett for his album The Beat of My Heart. Acknowledging bop as an inspiration, Chico attempts to capture Charlie Parker’s melodic aspect of playing in The Charlie Parker Suite. "In my thoughts of Bird, it seemed to me that today’s sax players are aware of Bird’s rhythmic sophistication in terms of his solos, but have forgotten how beautifully Bird would play the melody, and play off of the melody in his solos," explains Chico. "Like Trane, they’ve missed Bird’s melodic sophistication." The Charlie Parker Suite was commissioned by and premiered at the 15th annual Charlie Parker Festival (New York City, 2007).

About ChicoHamilton

Known for representing jazz in its purest form, octogenarian Chico Hamilton shows virtually no signs of fatigue. Saluted by the Kennedy Center as a "Living Jazz Legend", and appointed to the National Council on the Arts, Chico Hamilton is considered one of the most important living jazz artists and composers. He is currently on a national BORDERS Bookstore tour with his band Euphoria. While continuing to teach at the New School University Jazz Program where he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate degree, Chico is busy writing his autobiography, composing and performing music for film, and working on additional album releases for 2009.

Dreams Come True is a monumental musical conversation between two of jazz’s most innovative elder statesmen. NEA Jazz Masters Chico Hamilton (b.1921) and Andrew Hill (1931-2007) bring their varying styles together into a distinct, mutual song of ideas soaked with wit and humor. This ’93 debut recording is a document of a moment in time when this remarkable duo came together sharing their compositional prowess and profound understanding of instrumentation. Only once before did they join forces back in 1991 at the Charlotte Jazz Festival. According to Chico, "Hill was a genius and a beautiful human being! It’s an honor to add his unique voice to my recording catalog."

Trio! Live @ Artpark is the ’94 live recording of Chico’s power Trio at the Artpark Festival in Lewiston, New York. With long-time collaborator and guitarist Cary DeNigris and six-string electric bass virtuoso Matthew Garrison, son of the late Jimmy Garrison, Chico leads his steeds through an adventurous, explosive series of originals and a heady romp on "Tickle Toe." This trio exhibits a rare chemistry on the bandstand while unleashing electrified versions of Chico originals including "Ain’t Nobody Calling Me"(originally from 1989’s Reunion), "These Are The Dues"(from 1989’s Euphoria), "First Light"(from 1976’s The Players), the gorgeous "Denise"(from 1979’s Nomad) and a brand new work "Sculpture".

About ChicoHamilton

Known for representing jazz in its purest form, octogenarian Chico Hamilton shows virtually no signs of fatigue. According to Downbeat Magazine, he is "a master storyteller, drummer, and jazz sage, Hamilton doesn’t need to play blazing single strokes or gymnastic polyrhythms to tell his tale, as his message is pure and brutally honest." Saluted by the Kennedy Center as a "Living Jazz Legend", and recently appointed to the National Council on the Arts, Chico Hamilton is considered one of the most important living jazz artists and composers. He is currently on a national BORDERS Bookstore tour with his band Euphoria. While continuing to teach at the New School University Jazz Program where he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate degree, Chico is busy writing his autobiography, composing and performing music for film, and working on additional album releases for 2009. http://www.myspace.com/chicohamilton.

]]>morrice.blackwell@gmail.com (April Thibeault)Press ReleasesSat, 29 Jan 2011 08:49:49 -0600Center for Creative Resources (CCR) Heads the New TimesCenter Venuehttp://www.jazzreview.com/jazz-news/press-releases/center-for-creative-resources-ccr-heads-the-new-timescenter-venue.html
http://www.jazzreview.com/jazz-news/press-releases/center-for-creative-resources-ccr-heads-the-new-timescenter-venue.html The Center for Creative Resources (CCR) Is Appointed Building Operator of The New York Times’ TheTimesCenter New York City -- The Center for Creative Resources (CCR), a New York City-based arts management firm, today announced its appointment as Building Operator of TheTimesCenter, a public assembly venue serving as the centerpiece of the recently opened headquarters for The New York Times, located in the heart of Times

The Center for Creative Resources (CCR) Is Appointed Building Operator of TheNew York Times’ TheTimesCenter

New York City -- The Center for Creative Resources (CCR), a New York City-based arts management firm, today announced its appointment as Building Operator of TheTimesCenter, a public assembly venue serving as the centerpiece of the recently opened headquarters for The New York Times, located in the heart of Times Square district (242 West 41st Street). Known for providing comprehensive administrative tools for artists and arts organizations, CCR spearheads TheTimesCenter as Manhattan’s "new space for a new century" serving as the home to many cultural and educational programs presented by The New York Times and others.

Since 2005, CCR has been instrumental in all stages of the space’s development. "This is a great opportunity for us", says CCR President and TheTimesCenter’s General Manager, Victor Gotesman. "The TimesCenter project allows us to use all of our services in management, planning, marketing, and operations to help create a new cultural destination for New York." From implementing the business plan, to managing a 40+ person staff, CCR is responsible for all day-to-day operations of TheTimesCenter’s two venues including, but not limited to: sales and bookings to outside renters, event management, theatre operations, financial management, contracting, personnel management, and event and venue marketing. Events at TheTimesCenter span everything from The New York Times sponsored programs like TimesTalks and Arts & Leisure Week to the Museum of the Moving Image, Merkin Concert Hall, Film Society of Lincoln Center, Yale University, Metropolis Ensemble, Macy’s, One-Day University, Parsons Dance, Academy of American Poets, corporate meetings and presentations, award shows, etc.

The Center for Creative Resources (CCR) was founded in 2003 by Victor Gotesman and Noel Hayashi as a full-service management firm dedicated to helping artists and arts organizations realize their creative goals by building capacity and enabling them to connect with their audiences. CCR provides comprehensive services and programs for artists and arts organizations in the areas of management, strategic planning, marketing, fundraising, financial planning, organizational development, and board development. CCR also provides short- and long-term feasibility studies, strategic analysis, and business planning for arts-related projects. With expertise across the arts discipline landscape, and a commitment to providing sound and informed consul, CCR partners with its clients to achieve their goals in a detailed and strategic way. For more information about CCR, call 212-864-7827 or visit www.ccr-arts.org.

TheTimesCenter opened its doors in September 2007. Designed by the acclaimed architect Renzo Piano, TheTimesCenter is comprised of two separate spaces The Stage, on the main floor, and The Hall, on the lower level.The Stage area of TheTimesCenter features a 378-seat auditorium with a stage measuring 40 feet by 10 feet and can expand by another 10 feet. It is appropriate for lectures, small concerts, film screenings, readings, award programs, debates, seminars, product launches and more. The Stage includes wireless Internet feeds for meetings and distance-learning events as well as greenrooms, dressing rooms and production office facilities. The Hall, located directly below The Stage, can accommodate 400 people for banquets and as many as 700 for receptions. It is also appropriate for trade shows, exhibitions, lectures and meetings. The Hall includes a caterer’s staging/warming area. TheTimesCenter is available for rent for public and private events and is intended to serve both the private and nonprofit sectors. For more information, visit www.thetimescenter.com.

BOSTON MODERN ORCHESTRA PROJECT (BMOP) LAUNCHES ITS SIGNATURE RECORD LABEL BMOP SOUND "BMOP is emerging as the national leader among orchestras of its ilk." Boston Globe Roslindale, MA--- The Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), the nation’s leadi

"BMOP is emerging as the national leader among orchestras of its ilk." Boston Globe

Roslindale, MA--- The Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), the nation’s leading orchestra dedicated exclusively to performing, commissioning, and recording new music, announces the prospective launch of its own CD label, BMOP Sound. With its debut scheduled for January 2008, BMOP Sound will become the nation’s foremost label devoted exclusively to new music recordings, many of which have been commissioned by BMOP. Additional BMOP Sound recordings will be of seminal works that are no longer available to the public.

Gil Rose, BMOP’s founding Artistic Director, and the Executive Producer of BMOP Sound, believes BMOP Sound will make a unique contribution to the legacy of classical music recordings. "BMOP’s mission has always been to bring the classical music audience closer to the music of its own time by performing new works and rediscovering underappreciated, important works from the 20th Century. BMOP Sound gives us the opportunity to broaden that mission to a global audience."

Adding to BMOP’s existing catalog of 13 commercially released CDs (from Albany, Arsis, Cantaloupe, Chandos, Naxos, New World, and Oxingale labels), BMOP Sound is scheduled to release five world premiere CDs at the start of 2008: John Harbison’s Ulysses; Michael Gandolfi’s Y2K Compliant; Gunther Schuller’s Journey Into Jazz featuring Gunther Schuller (narrator);Lee Hyla’s Lives of the Saints featuring Mary Nessinger (mezzo-soprano); and Charles Fussell’s Wilde featuring Sanford Sylvan (baritone). With 28 more recording projects in the works, BMOP Sound plans to issue four to six CDs each year. Committed to universal access, preservation and appreciation, BMOP Sound recordings will be distributed by Albany Music Distributors, coupled with global online distribution. An interactive BMOP website with digital download capabilities is planned for later in 2008.

The Boston Modern Orchestra Project, widely recognized as the premiere orchestra for performing and recording new music,strives to illuminate the connections that exist between both contemporary music and society. Over the past decade, BMOP has received nine ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming of Orchestral Music including the 2006-2007 ASCAP Award for Programming of Contemporary Music, and the 2006 American Symphony Orchestra League’s John S. Edwards Award for Strongest Commitment to New American Music. BMOP’s performances were recently described to be "a combination of Rose's savvy programming, the orchestra's incisive and stylish playing, and a general vibe that somehow weds a breezy coolness with a healthy dose of chaos." For more information, visit http://www.bmop.org.

]]>morrice.blackwell@gmail.com (April Thibeault)Press ReleasesSat, 29 Jan 2011 08:46:25 -0600Jazz Pianist Anthony Davis To Perform with Boston Modern Orchestra Projecthttp://www.jazzreview.com/jazz-news/press-releases/jazz-pianist-anthony-davis-to-perform-with-boston-modern-orchestra-project.html
http://www.jazzreview.com/jazz-news/press-releases/jazz-pianist-anthony-davis-to-perform-with-boston-modern-orchestra-project.htmlBoston Modern Orchestra Project Launches its 11th Season with Re-Inventions: Glorious and Subversive Music for Keyboards Featuring Guest Pianists including Jazz Artist Anthony Davis Boston, MA--- The Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), the nation’s leading orchestra dedicated exclusively to performing, commissioning, and recording new music of the 21st century, spearheads its pr

Boston Modern Orchestra Project Launches its 11th Season with Re-Inventions: Glorious and Subversive Music for Keyboards

Featuring Guest Pianists including Jazz Artist Anthony Davis

Boston, MA--- The Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP),the nation’s leading orchestra dedicated exclusively to performing, commissioning, and recording new music of the 21st century, spearheads its premiere-packed, cutting-edge season with Re-Inventions: Glorious and Subversive Music for Keyboards at Jordan Hall (30 Gainsborough Street), on Friday, November 2nd @ 8:00pm. The kaleidoscopic mix of piano concerti includes: a special appearance by composer/pianist Anthony Davis performing his own piece Wayang V; the world premieres of Piano Concerto by David Rakowski and Chamber Concerto #3 by Elliott Schwartz; and the U.S. premiere of Side by Side by Michael Colgrass. This concert is made possible in part by M. Steinert and Sons and the Gregory E. Bulger Foundation.

Bringing rhythmic improvisational piano solos to the program is Anthony Davis’s Wayang V (1984). Davis is an internationally known composer and pianist known for his virtuoso performances as a soloist. Wayang V is one of a number of his compositions inspired by the Balinese Gamelan; each of his Wayang pieces employs polyrhythmic repetition and improvisation. According to Davis, improvisation has always been central to his aesthetic conception. "Improvisation is a revolutionary idea which allows for the creativity of the performer within a dynamic musical structure." Wayang V premiered with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, was performed and recorded by the Kansas City Symphony Orchestra in 1988, and premiered in Boston in 2002 with BMOP.

General Information:

What: Boston Modern Orchestra Project’s Re-Inventions: New Concertos for Keyboards

DETAILS: 86-year old band leader/percussionist Forestorn "Chico" Hamilton premieres multi-genre works off of his latest album Hamiltonia (released 09.18.2007).

Chico is considered one of the most important living jazz artists and composers. Known for representing jazz in its purest form, Hamiltonia is "jazz at its finest."

HOW: FREE. First come, first serve. Contact your local Borders store for details.

]]>morrice.blackwell@gmail.com (April Thibeault)Press ReleasesSat, 29 Jan 2011 08:45:56 -0600Daniel Bernard Roumain Debuts Solo Albumhttp://www.jazzreview.com/jazz-news/press-releases/daniel-bernard-roumain-debuts-solo-album.html
http://www.jazzreview.com/jazz-news/press-releases/daniel-bernard-roumain-debuts-solo-album.htmlDaniel Bernard Roumain (DBR) Debuts New Solo Album etudes4violin&electronix "about as omnivorous as a contemporary musician gets." New York Times New York City--- Known for fusing his classical music roots with a myriad of soundscapes, composer/performer Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR) premieres new multi-genre works off of his debut solo album etudes4violin&electronix from Thirsty Ear Records

New York City--- Known for fusing his classical music roots with a myriad of soundscapes, composer/performer Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR) premieres new multi-genre works off of his debut solo album etudes4violin&electronix from Thirsty Ear Records (6/26/07 Release Date). etudes4violin&electronix is the classically-driven kaleidoscopic album for discerning new music lovers with a penchant for progressive electronic music. DBR displays his own intricate, hybrid series of solo works and pulsing duets with world class musicians including Philip Glass, Ryuichi Sakamoto, DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid and Christian A. Davis aka DJ Scientific. Deep and personal, soulful and contemplative, this album represents a unified dialogue between one Harlem-based, Haitian-American composer and ambassadors from today's contemporary musical landscape.

DBR has carved a reputation for himself as a passionately innovative violinist, band leader, and composer. From premiering a ground-breaking fusion of incompatible cultures and instruments with Christian A. Davis aka DJ Scientific in DBR’s Sonata for Violin and Turntables at the Melbourne Arts Festival and Vancouver’s PuSh Festival, to jamming with his nine-member ensemble, DBR & THE MISSION, at Joe’s Pub, Washington DC’s Library of Congress, and Notre Dame, DBR serves as a classical-urban ambassador for a widening global audience. His dramatic pieces range from orchestral scores and energetic chamber works to rock songs and electronica. He has collaborated with Vernon Reid, Savion Glover, Susan Sarandon, Cassandra Wilson, and an array of orchestras and chamber ensembles. He also serves as the Artistic Adviser of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. Current projects include his highly anticipated 2007 debut season at BAM’s Next Wave Festival featuring One Loss Plus (his fifth evening-length solo show) for violin, video, and chamber ensemble; 24 Bits: Hip Hop Studies and Etudes and Event Pieces performed by DBR on piano and laptop; andCall Them All: Fantasy Projections for Film, Laptop, and Orchestra, his latest orchestral work which received its world premiere at Carnegie's Zankel Hall by the American Composers Orchestra. For everything else, visit www.dbrmusic.com.